Unless you live along one of the beautiful Great Lakes, you probably aren't familiar with shelf ice. It is absolutely beautiful. My granddaughter had never seen it before so we took her over the weekend to see it. She was amazed at the difference it made along the shore. In the image above you'll see our lighthouse in the summer. Next to it you'll see our lighthouse in the winter. Quite a difference! If you are ever traveling along one of the Great Lakes, I think it would be worth a trip to the beach to see its incredible beauty. But NEVER walk on it or climb it! It's extremely dangerous.
The shelf ice is formed when the waves crash to the shore in the freezing temperatures. Several weeks of this can create some pretty high ice. The danger is when you are walking on it. It looks thick, and it is, but not everything is completely frozen. You can be walking on a section that might look solid but under that ice can be (and many times is) a hole. Once you fall into a hole, you will never be able to come back up. The water under the ice is still moving and will take you with it. Can you imagine how cold that water would be? Yet every single year we see people walking on it.
I added some links at the end of this post that explains the danger in detail. So, if you ever get a chance to see it, definitely do and take your camera. Enjoy the beauty from a distance.
https://www.wndu.com/2025/01/22/hidden-dangers-shelf-ice/
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shelf+ice+lake+michigan
